


the difficulties of being part-fox

by i_was_human



Series: D.Min Week 2021 [2]
Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Cats, D.Min Week 2021, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Hybrids, No Beta, jeongmin dad of the year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29367885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: Kang Dongho is an arctic fox hybrid.This is fine.Because of this, cats hate him.This is decidedly less fine.
Relationships: Boba & Kang Dongho | D.Min, Jeongmin (Lost in Translation) & Kang Dongho | D.Min
Series: D.Min Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2167335
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12
Collections: D.Min Birthday Week 2021





	the difficulties of being part-fox

The problem with being a hybrid, Dongho's found, is that animals seem to instinctively hate him.

It stretches back to when he was a kid - back when he used to try to approach the stray cats and they'd either hiss, claw him, or run away - and as his ears and tail have grown, animals have hated him even more. 

Perfect.

It's not like he _wants_ to be a hybrid. Sure, it's pretty nice some of the time - heightened reflexes are always a plus - but he'd gladly give up _anything_ just to pet a cat.

Are they soft? They look soft.

He likes to hope they're soft. 

In any case, cats hate Dongho. This is just... a very depressing fact of life.

He's _sure_ he'll get to pet one someday, though. Maybe when he's too old for cats to think he's a threat.

Yeah... surely then.

In the meantime, he can pet his tail and pretend it's a cat.

Or, well-

Do cats have the same fur texture as foxes? Google wasn't very helpful in that regard.

He digresses.

Someday, he is going to pet a cat. It's one of the two things he's sure about. He wants to pursue music, and he wants to pet a cat.

And if the first can happen, then so can the second.

* * *

Minsoo's bright idea is to go to a cat cafe.

This goes exactly as well as Dongho expected. 

The staff are nice, at least, though Dongho can't say he isn't expecting it when multiple cats either hiss at him, claw him, or otherwise try to mutilate him.

It's fine. Really.

He manages to wind up with a kitten permanently attached to his index finger, though, so that's something.

Of course, said kitten won't even let him pet him - instead opting to twist around and claw Dongho's face, _h_ _ard_ , so.

His week is just going... so great? So great.

Minsoo laughs his _ass_ off at the claw marks just above Dongho's eyebrow, though, so at least someone's having fun.

(and no, Dongho does not cry that night while watching videos of munchkin cats running very very fast. anyone who says that is a dirty liar who has ~~the ability to pet cats~~ no idea what they're talking about.)

* * *

"Hey, hey, don't... don't get upset."

Minsoo awkwardly pats Dongho's shoulder, watching as the elder's ears droop so deeply they nearly disappear into his hair. "Man, you're really upset, aren't you...?"

"They _run_ ," Dongho mumbles, face buried in his knees. "They run, and their little nails click on the floor, so you can hear them _coming_ -"

Now, Minsoo is not a cat person. In fact, he thinks cats are the spawn of satan themselves.

And yet.

And yet, Dongho does kinda have a point.

"Have you considered adopting?" he asks, and Dongho makes a vaguely miserable noise. 

"The cat would just be miserable."

"Get a very tiny kitten."

"They can smell danger."

Minsoo gapes at that, because _Dongho_? _Dangerous?_

"...is it the fox-"

" _Yes_ , it's the fox ears and tail."

"Well," Minsoo hums, reaching out to stroke Dongho's fluffy tail, "I think you really got the best deal possible-"

Dongho shoots him a withering glare, and Minsoo wisely shuts up.

* * *

Were it up to Jeongmin, Dongho would already own a cat.

He's seen the way his ~~son~~ ward(?) reacts when he sees a cat. In fact, Jeongmin has _never_ seen _anybody_ react to cats as positively and with the same amount of _overwhelming affection_ as Kang Dongho.

Were it up to Jeongmin, Dongho would be loved by every single cat in the entire world.

Unfortunately, it is _not_ up to him, and so Dongho continues to perpetually suffer in the name of cat love.

Why couldn't Dongho have been a cat hybrid instead of an _arctic fox_? It would solve his cat problem, probably lead to less shedding, make him less likely to overheat in the summer, stop him from randomly running out into the snow to eat snow or catch snowflakes-

Dongho being a cat hybrid would make a _lot_ of things easier, come to think of it. 

But he's a fox, and Jeongmin doesn't make the rules, so he just has to work with it.

...that doesn't _necessarily_ mean he's hated by all cats, though.

(right?

right.)

It sure would be strange if a cat _just happened_ to like Dongho's scent after someone _just happened_ to repeatedly expose said cat to his scent in an attempt to calm it down that would _just happen_ to make Dongho the happiest he's ever been.

What an odd series of coincidences Jeongmin totally isn't planning. 

It's not like he has a cat picked out already. Absolutely not.

Anyways, the cat is arriving in six days, so he should probably handle that.

* * *

Jeongmin is slightly ashamed to admit that he can't actually remember the kitten's gender.

He chose the name _Boba_ , too, which doesn't give a _single_ thing away.

Great.

And, of course, because Boba's small enough to sit in the palm of his hand, there's no indication as to whether Boba is a boy cat or a girl cat, and so Jeongmin opts to forego pronouns all together and just call Boba Boba.

Boba is Boba. A perfectly true and also evasive statement.

In any case, he does actually have to get to work. If Boba can associate fox smell with head pats and hugs, then Jeongmin can die happy.

Or, well.

It'll check off one item on his list of exactly 918 items he has to accomplish in the next ten years, at least.

(man, children are a lot of work. especially full-grown fox-hybrid children who treat self-care like a foreign language and love cats _significantly_ too much.)

And, best of all, Dongho suspects nothing. 

Jeongmin's never had to keep a present secret from a child before, but he likes to imagine this is exactly how it feels. That mix of exhilaration and excitement, the idea that at any moment, Dongho could find the mewling, tottering bundle of fur and affection-

it keeps things interesting, at least.

* * *

In the end, Jeongmin ends up giving Dongho the new cat in as unceremonious of a way as possible. 

Namely: dumping Boba into his hands.

Dongho's eyes widen as the small ball of black fluff flops into his hands, and his smile only grows as Boba marks his thumb before reaching out to sniff his nose, a low purr resonating deep in the kitten's chest.

"I love him," Dongho breathes, and yep, it's decided, Boba is now a him.

What a perfect way to decide gender! 

"He's all yours," Jeongmin uselessly states, and Dongho reaches up to gently stroke Boba's head with his index finger, a low coo escaping his lips.

...this is _adorable_.

Dongho's tail swishes behind him, his excitement evident, and Boba leaps from his hands, digging his teeth into the mess of fur.

...well. It's adorable _and_ murderous, but since when are cats not?

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for day two of d.min week 2021! prompt: cats
> 
> leave a comment if you liked it! :D
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/i_was_human_) | [lit fic discord!](https://discord.gg/CNunB74)


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